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Promoting Stability in the Aegean Region
And a Settlement to the Cyprus Problem

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Policy Overview   |   Remarks and Testimony   |   Press Statements   |   Country Information  

Policy Overview

Promotion of a just and lasting Cyprus settlement is a constant of U.S. foreign policy. While interested outside parties such as the United States continue to support a negotiating process, the structure and terms of a settlement are matters for the Cypriots to decide. The United States backs the mandate given to the UN Secretary General to facilitate negotiations between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. A negotiated solution will also require the positive support of Greece and Turkey. In January 1995, reflecting the Administration's interest in promoting a resolution of the Cyprus dispute, President Clinton appointed Richard Beattie to serve as his Special Presidential Emissary for Cyprus.

The United States contributed substantial funds for the relief and rehabilitation of refugees from the 1974 hostilities. From 1975 through 1986, the United States provided about $200 million in assistance to Cyprus, which was channeled to both communities in proportion to population, through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the Cyprus Red Cross. Once the immediate needs of displaced persons were met, the focus of U.S. assistance shifted to long-range programs. U.S. aid is directed at building lines of communication between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities, which have been physically and politically separated since 1974. Today, the United States gives Cyprus $15 million annually, of which $10 million funds bi-communal development activities, mainly in the areas of health, environment, education, and agriculture. The remaining $5 million is spent on scholarship programs for both Turkish and Greek Cypriot students.

The United States also contributes to the support of UN peacekeeping troops in Cyprus, which have been on the island since 1964.

Link to the American Embassy's site on the Cyprus peace process.

Remarks and Testimony

Press Statements

Country Information

Material from 1997-1998

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